Ways to save money. I don’t think I can think of anyone in my circles that doesn’t think of this topic on a somewhat regular basis. We can all use ways to save money. It’s kind of like finding ways to eat less food or eat better food. I can think of no one in my circles that doesn’t think about how to limit their food intake.
Saving money is one of the keys to building a successful financial life. You don’t have to live in a cave and eat ramen noodles every day either. There are some really good ways that we can save money and still live the type of life that you want to live. So let’s get into my favorite 10 ways to save money.
(1) Budget
I know that this one isn’t exciting, but it is necessary. Budgeting is one of the most important aspects of a responsible adult’s financial life. You HAVE to know where your money is going before it actually disappears.
Budgeting is kind of like stretching before going on a run. Sure, you can avoid stretching for a while and be fine. But after you start running longer and longer distances, you will eventually get injured if you don’t stretch. Likewise, if you don’t budget, you will be fine for a while. But after some time, you will find hat there is just too much month at the end of the money. You will find that there are some severe leaks in your spending.
A budget will help to eliminate those leaks.
You can use an app or a website, an Excel spreadsheet, or just write it out on a piece of paper.
Here is my budgeting process that I use if I am not using an app.
(2) Meal Plan
For most people, food is the biggest financial hole that they have. This makes it a great way to save money. Whether it be eating out (which I’ll get to in a minute) or groceries, we spend WAAAAY too much on food.
The reason that most of us overspend on food is because we are just walking through the store ordering what we THINK we will eat or what looks good.
Before you get groceries again, plan out each and every meal that you will have. Also allot for a number of snacks (because you will need them). I know that this can be time consuming but it is worth it.
Planning out meals gives you a specific list of what to purchase at the store. It will dramatically cut down on the amount of money that you spend in the grocery store as well as cut back on the number of bags of unused salad in the back of your fridge going to waste as you drive to Taco Bell.
(3) Meal Prep
Meal prepping is another great way to save money. When you prep your meals at the beginning of the week it alleviates the need for you to go out and grab something on your lunch break or to order takeout for dinner.
I understand that most people won’t be able to meal prep EVERY meal for the week. I know I can’t. But I do meal prep my lunches for the entire week. This way I don’t have to worry about eating out and spending extra money when I go to work. Additionally, it saves me a lot of headache trying to think of what I might want to eat for dinner on a particular night. I already know because I meal planned and it’s already made because I meal prepped!
(4) Order Groceries Instead of Going to the Store
For the last three years or so my wife and I have been ordering groceries and picking them up at the store. We have seen our grocery bill drop by nearly 40% by doing this! Sure not everyone will have such a large grocery bill decrease, but by ordering groceries online and picking them up you will avoid most of the unnecessary spending that you would normally have.
Also, I don’t like going into the grocery store very much anyway so it has been great!
Sure, sometimes the jalapenos that the order selector chose are not the same ones that I would have chosen, but that doesn’t happen very often. And, at least for me, it is well worth not having to go into the store and having that time back to myself.
(5) Eat Out With Coupons
Sure. One of the ways that you can save money is to stop eating out entirely. I know that.
But I’m also realistic to know that very few people will stop eating out at restaurants cold turkey.
So when you are going to eat out do two things:
- Plan and budget to eat out no more than once per week
- Use a coupon when you eat out
People spend WAAAY too much eating out. So when you go out to eat, just be smart about it. Look for deals and go out to eat because you PLANNED on going out to eat, not just because you can’t make up your mind on what to have for dinner.
(6) PLAN When You Go Out to a Bar, Club, etc.
Similar to eating out, I understand that stopping going out to bars or clubs cold turkey is just not something that most people will do. And that is totally okay!
But if you are going to go to a bar or club then just plan for it. Budget for it. Know what you are going to spend when you show up. And limit the amount of time that you go out as well.
Similar to eating out, just make a plan for it and it will save you a lot of money.
(7) Cancel Unused Subscriptions
This is a big way to save money. Most of us have subscriptions that we don’t use and that don’t bring us value. Those little subscriptions of $3.00/month or $15.00/month can really add up.
In my time doing financial counseling, I have seen people save $250-300 PER MONTH just by canceling subscriptions that they don’t use anymore. And in a lot of cases, they didn’t even know that they were still paying for them!
So here are a couple of examples of subscriptions that you should probably cancel:
- You have a gym membership. But it has been so long since you have been to the gym that you have to use your GPS to find it. You should probably cancel the membership.
- If the last time you watched HBO Max was when the series finale of Game of Thrones was on, you should probably cancel that membership.
Look for things like that. If you don’t use it and/or if you don’t get value from it, cancel it.
(8) Refinance Debt
This one can be hit or miss for people. If you want to save money and you have debt you can refinance it to get a lower interest rate. This is especially true for mortgages right now (early 2022).
HOWEVER, make sure to watch the terms of the refinance. If you are being charged a bunch of fees it may not be worth it to refinance.
Also, if the term for your loan is extended then it probably won’t be worth it to refinance it.
What a lot of lenders will do is they will extend the term of the loan out further, thus lowering your monthly payment. But you will end up paying more on that loan over time because it will take you longer to pay it off.
But if you are simply lowering your interest rate and not adding any time on the end of the loan it will be worth it to save some money!
(9) Walk or Bike to Work
I understand that this one will not be available for everyone. But if you live within a few miles of your work, you should consider walking or biking there. It’s better for the environment and it is better for your health.
Sure, you may not be able to do it all of the time. After all, who wants to walk to work in Phoenix in July? Or who wants to bike to work in Fargo in February? No one.
But if it is a relatively nice day outside and there is a save path for you to get to work on foot or a bike, take it! You can save a lot of money on wear and tear of your car as well as insurance costs.
(10) Utilize Free Entertainment
The Corona virus was hard on many people’s lives. I don’t want to downplay that at all. But one of the things that I noticed (and a lot of other people) is the amount of people outside.
When we were in lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, we would take our dog for a walk and it seemed like the rest of the town was outside doing the same!
Families were walking their dogs, kids were playing basketball in the driveways, people were playing frisbee golf or soccer in the fields, etc. That part of the lockdown was great!
We met people that we would have otherwise probably never met and we got to know our neighbors (safely of course).
If you are trying to save money, utilize free entertainment. Take your kids to the park and let them run wild, go on a hike, throw a baseball around. You don’t have to spend money to have fun!
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of ways to save money. These are simply the ones that I have done and have worked for me. There are, of course, hundreds of others.
The point is that if you want to save money, you can! There are ways that you can still live your life and have a great time while ALSO working towards your financial goals.
And as far as your financial goals, I am here to help.
I am here to help give you the knowledge to make sound financial decisions and live the life that you want.
You can do it!
I’m here for you!
Until next time!
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